Green Arras

London; Chicago: John Lane at The Bodley Head; Way and Williams, 1896 . First edition. Cloth. Very Good. 8" by 5.5". Laurence Housman. A bright first edition of this poetry anthology by Laurence Housman, illustrated by the author himself. Illustrated by Housman with a woodcut frontispiece and title page and five plates. Collated, complete.In the very smart original cloth binding, which has a repeated ethereal gilt motif across the spine and front board.Housman, a prominent Victorian era playwright, writer, and illustrator, also designed the binding for this work; he worked for the publisher, designing many of their book covers. He is remembered as admitting in that binding that he 'did what I thought an extra-good one for myself. It was, in all events, very rich and elaborate'. With a sixteen page publisher's catalogue to the rear.With a former owner's hand drawn inscription, featuring the initials FMJ, to the front free endpaper, and the inscription 'Sept 19 1934' to the rear pastedown. In the publisher's original gilt decorated cloth binding. Bumping to back strip head and tail, with spine dulled. Former owner's inscription to front free endpaper and rear pastedown. Binding starting between pages 16 and 17, otherwise generally firmly bound. Light tide marks to heads of plates at margins, with pages otherwise clean and bright. Very Good